How Valuable is Rockets' No. 3 Pick?

The Houston Rockets have some power by holding the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Oct 2, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone smiles before the preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports | Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Rockets hold the No. 3 overall pick in next month's NBA Draft, but there's reason to believe the team may trade the selection.

After selecting nine first-round players since 2021, there isn't a ton of space on the roster for the No. 3 overall pick to develop properly, and there isn't a surefire player that makes sense for the Rockets at that spot.

That's why Bleacher Report ranks the No. 3 pick as the 8th-best trade asset on the market.

"Houston likely wishes that the third overall pick would be higher in these rankings, but it might for the right team. Maybe there's a franchise out there that it feels it has to have Donovan Clingan (the latest No. 3 pick for B/R's Jonathan Wasserman), Reed Sheppard (ESPN's Jonathan Givony) or Nikola Topić (The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor). It only takes one interested front office to drive up the value of the pick," Bleacher Report writes.

Any of those players listed above would have a tough time cracking the rotation for the Rockets, so it makes sense for Houston to trade back. At the very least, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone and the front office should be doing their homework to see if there is an offer worth taking. There will likely be a lot of parity in teams' big boards, and if the Rockets can get the player they want a little later in the lottery while also acquiring additional assets, they should look into it.

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